Dante's Inferno: Saeko and Leo
by Missa22
Summary: In a world where men can turn into animals and animals into men, the Fates have chosen two were-hunters to be mated. The only thing is, Saeko doesn't know she is a were-hunter. Leo is young enough that he didn't think that he would find his mate so easily. And what does Savitar have to do with any of this? Warning: I don't own anything created by Kenyon. Rated M for future chapter
1. Chapter 1

Saeko tossed back a tequila shot and then grimaced as it burned down the back of her throat. This was turning out to be a horrible spring break trip.

The girls that she had come to New Orleans with had ditched her in favor of the Mardi Gras Parade down on Bourbon Street.

Saeko hadn't wanted to go, so they had left her at a bar called Sanctuary about a block away from their hotel.

Some friends. They were more interested in showing off their boobs than be with her celebrating her twenty-fourth birthday.

"Hey there little lady, what can I get for you?" One of the gorgeous bartenders asked her. Saeko swore this place had enough beefcake to appease any woman. Her friends were insane to choose Mardi Gras over this place.

"Just a Bud Light, and three more tequila shots if you don't mind." Saeko replied back to him with a smile. She knew that sounded like a lot of alcohol, but she had never been drunk or hung over a day in her life.

The bartender gave her a knowing look and walked away to fill her order.

Saeko was siting at the bar ignoring all of the people around her. She didn't want to have any part in the revelry going on. She was happy to listen to the house band, the Howlers, play. They were pretty good.

"So what is one of your kind doing here?" A deep voice asked from behind, interrupting her foot tapping to the beat of a song that she actually knew.

Saeko turned her barstool so that she could take a look at the man. He was tall, good looking, and stood there like he owned the entire world. He had shoulder length, wavy dark hair and dark eyes to match. Basically he was on of the gorgeous pieces of beefcake walking around the inside of the bar.

Just they type to pick on the only Asian chick in a biker bar. "Well, aren't you a racist prick? Here I am, minding my own business, when you decide to come over and foul up my night by razzing the Asian chick. What next, math jokes? Going to ask me how to fix your computer? Sorry about your luck, dude. I'm a history major. I'm technology stupid. I can't even get a cell phone to work right. Better luck next time." Saeko turned back to face the bar only to find the bartender had arrived with her drinks and was giving her a dumfounded look.

Great, now the bartender probably thought that she was crazy. Saeko ignored both men, the bartender and the prick behind her, and knocked back a shot a the tequila, then she chased it down with a sip of beer. She wasn't about to show either of them how hurt she was.

Leo stood behind the girl, stunned. He could smell her scent. No doubt about it, she was Arcadian Panther-swan. He had just wanted to know why one so young was out alone. She hadn't even gone through puberty yet. Her scent told him that much. She thought that he was being a jerk over her Asian looks? Only humans thought that way, not a Katagari. But if she didn't recognize his scent for a Katagari, that meant she was either very sheltered before now, or she thought herself human.

He needed to figure out what was going on either way before some of the more animalistic individuals in the bar took advantage of her.

Leo sat on the stool next to her and waited until she glanced at him.

Putting on his most charming grin he said, "Sorry about that. I honestly thought that you were someone else. I didn't mean to mistake you. Nor did i mean to sound racist. I'm Leo by the way." He held out his hand for her to shake, taking in the tight; boot cut jeans, boots, and t-shirt she was wearing.

On her, the dark shirt just emphasized her thin, lithe body. Her long black hair hung loose down her back like a waterfall to her waist.

He continued to hold out his hand for her to shake, and watched as she knocked back another tequila shot like a pro. In his opinion, she was far to young to be drinking like this, but if she had been raised thinking herself only a normal human, this would be normal for someone her age.

He had to figure out this whole situation. There was something strange going on here.

Saeko finally took pity on the man. He had sat there for almost five minutes with his hand out before she had caved.

She placed her hand in his and shook it. "Saeko Tanaka. Sorry bout the bad attitude, but I get a lot of shit for being part Japanese." She then knocked back the third shot of tequila and chased it with a sip of beer.

She noticed a strange look on Leo's face, but ignored it. Most guys, she had found, were intimidated by the way she drank.

Finally he replied to her apology.

"It's ok. It was my fault for not making sure that you were whom I thought I was talking to. And I understand your defensiveness. If anyone so much as mentions the name Guido to me, I swear I break out in hives. I'm part Italian if you hadn't guessed already." He gave her a grin that if she had been standing, her knees would have been quaking.

Saeko chuckled at the image of him covered in hives. "Now that you mention it, you do look very Guido-like."

Leo shuddered and she laughed openly. He was actually quite charming.

"So what brings you to Sanctuary then?" Leo asked her. He looked genuinely curious.

"Some friends and I are in town for our Spring Break trip, and they ditched me here in favor of showing their tits to every male out there on the street like a bunch of strippers. I'm sorry, but that has no appeal to me." She turned her stool towards him so that she could see him better. She also wanted to see what his reaction would be to her words. This night was starting to look up.

"Their loss is my gain then, Saeko." The way he said her name in that deep, hot chocolate over coffee beans voice of his made her sigh in pleasure on the inside.

Leo, not noticing anything, continued on. "I'm visiting my friends who actually own this bar. The bartender? He is the co-owner of this place with his wife. She is the tall blond talking to the lead singer of the band. He's Fang and she's Aimee. Pretty much all of the blond males in this room are all Aimee's brothers."

While Leo had been talking, the bartender, Fang she now knew, brought him a beer. Bud Light, just like her.

Looking around the room, Saeko noticed that a large number of the blond males did bear a strong resemblance to the tall, blonde woman.

"That's a large family she has. And they all work here?" Saeko asked. It seemed odd to her that there would be so many siblings. Granted she was an only child, an adopted one at that.

Saeko continued to study the rest of the bar while waiting for Leo's answer. It really was just a typical biker bar, just on a larger scale than what she was used to. This bar boasted three levels, including the ground floor. The third floor was cordoned off, but occasionally she saw people coming and going from there. She assumed that there was a private party going on up there.

The first floor boasted not only the bar against a side wall as you walked into the area, but also a stage on the wall opposite the bar, where the Howlers played. Between the stage and the bar was a dance floor, complete with a sprinkling of sand to give better traction.

Towards the back of the first floor were tables and booths for groups to sit, eat, drink, and watch the dancers. Behind those were the pool tables. It seemed to her that no bar was complete without at least one pool table, or if you were in a fancy pub, a billiards table.

The crowd itself seemed to be a grand mix of people. Oh there were the bikers one would expect at a biker bar, but there were also people in business suits relaxing after a days work.

There was even a large group of blue-collar people having a good time. It seemed to be a comfortable environment.

Saeko turned back to Leo to study him as well. He was talking again and naming off what he called the Peltier-Kattalakis clan. She was only half listening while she studied him.

Leo was a very handsome man by all rights. The first thing that anyone would notice was his shoulder length black hair. It was wavy, but once she got a closer look, it had such a glossy sheen. She wondered what kind of cream rinse he used. Leo had a broad brow and his eyebrows themselves were almost as straight as the bar her beer sat on.

He had dark eyes, the pupils lost in the iris of his eye they were so dark. His eyes were almost almond shaped.

His nose was a straight line down his face and aristocratically strong. His mouth was a sensual curve, that even when he was talking had one corner lifted up like he was always laughing at something.

Leo also had a strong chin with just a hint of a point.

Saeko closed her eyes for a moment and just took in a deep breath. Leo didn't seem to be wearing any cologne or aftershave, but his natural scent was spicy to her and very appealing.

Leo frowned when he saw Saeko close her eyes and tilt back her head. He knew she was scenting something, he just didn't know what.

Then it hit him. Her scent had changed. Shit! Saeko was going into her first heat cycle and she was scenting him and the other feline Katagari males in the bar. He had to get her out of here before they pounced on her. Some of them would likely kill her while trying to mate with her.

"Hey, why don't you and I go someplace a little more private to talk?" He asked her, knowing that while she was in heat she would come. He didn't really want to do this, but he knew that someone else might not take care of her.

If he was truly smart, he would teleport her to Inferno and let Pandora deal with Saeko. If he could resist her scent long enough to teleport her to Pandora, he would do just that.

Saeko opened her eyes and stared at him. He could see that her eyes were slightly glazed from the lust. It was incredibly hard for him to simply take her hand and guide her up the stairs to the third floor.

Leo had to get her to Pandora fast. His control was ebbing away by the second. Pandora would keep Saeko safe from any males that would hurt her.

Finally, he and Saeko made it to the third floor. This was the level that were-hunters like himself could flash in and out of Sanctuary without alerting the humans to anything abnormal.

Saeko turned into his chest and started to nuzzle him. "You smell so good. Why do you smell so good?" She murmured against his skin.

Oh yeah, she was well into her heat cycle now. This was pure torture. Wrapping his arms around her, he made the lateral jump that was easily explained as teleportation or flashing from one place to another.

He had aimed for the main living room of the family quarters inside of Inferno in the Twin Cities, but when he opened his eyes he was still holding Saeko in his arms inside of his room. He had fucked up, or was about to be fucked really.

The last of Leo's control disappeared when Saeko buried her hands in his hair, pulled his head down, and kissed him hard. She nibbled on his lip and moaned out loud.

Leo couldn't stop himself now if he tried to. His hands went to her hips and pulled her closer so that she could feel his erection. When she started to purr in the back of her thought, Leo moaned and bit her lips in return. This was going to be hard and fast, no doubt about it.

When Saeko stepped back and started taking her clothes off, Leo's mind just shut down. He was nothing but primal urges now.

The last coherent thought he had before his brain shut down was that this ended well. He didn't want to kill this girl.

Some Time Later.

Saeko stretched languidly in a warm, comfy bed without opening her eyes. She couldn't remember a time when she had felt this good.

She remembered everything that happened with Leo, and she felt herself blush. Saeko almost couldn't believe she had been so forceful. She didn't have a clue as to what had caused her to be like that.

Whatever it was seemed to be out of her system, for the moment at least.

Saeko snuggle closer to Leo and breathed in his scent. He was an amazing lover, and she almost couldn't believe he had that much stamina. She had never been with anyone before, but he had given her a night that she was going to remember for the rest of her life.

She moved to get out of the bed, and Leo's arm wrapped around her and pulled her back onto his chest.

"Where do you think your going?" he asked her in that voice of his while nuzzling her hair. Saeko was sure that she had the crazy sex hair thing going on that all of her girlfriends always complained about.

"I was going to see about getting something to drink. I seemed to have worked up a thirst while in here with you." Saeko said with a smirk. She rolled over so that she could look him in the face and see what he thought of that.

Leo grinned at her and nuzzled her forehead. "I seemed to have worked up and sated a hunger with you. This has been one hell of a night, my dear. But I shall go and get you something to drink, and something for me to eat, since we both have needs outside of this room. I want to see you just like this when I get back in here, naked on my bed. Could any sight be any better?"

He got out of the bed, and reached for a pair of discarded jeans. While he was bent over, Saeko couldn't help notice his tight butt. That was a thing of legends. She almost purred out loud over it, but didn't want to start having sex again so soon after their last round of rattle the bed.

"Get back here soon!" She couldn't resist calling as he left the room. He turned back just long enough to blow her a kiss in that devil-may-care way of his. Once the door shut behind him, Saeko settled back on the bed, snuggling with the pillows that smelled of Leo and just thought over the night that she had spent with him.

To be honest, she had never done anything like this before in her life. She didn't know what had come over her, but Leo was something else. He had taken her to a realm of pleasure that she hadn't known existed till now, and that she was not a frigid bitch like her last few boyfriends had told her.

Just as she had gotten comfortable, a searing pain on her left hand began to annoy her. It was like she had grabbed a hot pot without that benefit of a potholder.

"What the hell!?" She cried out. She didn't remember touching anything hot. Except for Leo.

Leo's right hand started burning as he was walking down the stairs to get some soda for Saeko to drink.

"Shit. This cant be good." He said under his breath.

He looked at his hand and saw the mating mark. And sure enough, he saw Saeko's lineage there intertwined with his own. What were the fates thinking? Binding him to a woman who didn't know anything about her lineage. It was almost as insane as them binding his brother Dante to an Arcadian when he hated them.

Granted, Dante loved Pandora, but still couldn't stand to be around any other Arcadian.

Leo knew that about this same time, Saeko would be getting her mark, and he wondered how freaked out she was. There was no way for this to end well. He would have to go back up to his room and explain to her that she wasn't human, and that they were mated to be together from her on out. "Till death do us part." He said aloud.

Their life spans put a whole new spin on that phrase.

"Someone kill me, please?" Leo said. He almost felt like just sitting down on the steps there and sighing from the frustration of it all.

"Then who would be the frak to my fric?" Mike's voice sounded from behind him. It seemed the Mike was headed downstairs as well and had just happened to come across him at the wrong moment.

"Go figure." Leo thought to himself. He continued down the rest of the stairs, so as to not continue blocking them and attracting more attention to his predicament.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, Leo held up his marked hand silently for Mike to see. As he knew he would, Mike recognized it instantly. There was no mistaking the mating mark. Each mark was unique to the partners. It showed their lineage and family background in a highly stylized manner.

"Damn Leo, who's the lucky panther-swan? Is she beautiful? Wait, she must be beautiful to have caught your eye." Mike slung his arm over Leo's shoulders and led him over to the kitchen. "Is she the one that I heard in your room when I came down here?"

Leo stopped and turned to face his twin. "Mike, I need help."

The look on his face must have told Mike just how bad this was. "What is it? I'm here for you through anything."

Leo took a steadying breath. "Yeah, she's up in my room now. She is some sort of feline Arcadian, but I'm not sure what type yet. She thinks herself human. She has no idea who or what she is. I have no idea how to explain this to her.

I met her last night at Sanctuary, and while we were there, she went into heat. It was similar to Dante and Pandora in a way. I have no idea how she didn't grow up knowing what she is. Man, I tried to get her to Pandora and just leave it at that, but she was so… amazing and hot. As you can see I got as far as the same house as Pandora, but once we got here it was over.

Do you have any ideas on how to explain this to her?"

Mike looked stunned. "Finally a way to shut him up." Leo thought to himself.

"Damn the fates. Let me see your mark. Maybe that will tell us something about her." Leo knew that Mike was stalling, but at the moment he didn't give a damn. Hell, he was stalling himself. He didn't want to go back into that room and face Saeko just yet.

Leo looked at his palm with Mike, and he saw his lineage fine. Saeko's on the other hand was hardly recognizable to him. He could see the panther lineage, but the other part of it seemed to be tiger. He saw the Stephanos line mingled with the James line.

But the James' were the Omegrion seat family for the Panthiras Arcadian. And the Stephanos' were the Omegrion seat family for the Tigarian Katagaria. Hell, the only reason he knew their marks was his brother Dante was the Omegrion seat for his own line, the Panthiras Katagaria.

This made no sense. This girl seemed to be the daughter of two very prominent Were-Hunter families. He didn't know much about the Stephanos family; but the James family would have made it well known if someone on their family had lost a daughter.

This was getting stranger by the moment.

When he mentioned all this to Mike, he agreed that it was strange as well. They hadn't come to any conclusion on how to break this to Saeko, but time was running out. Leo needed to get back to her. He was sure that his new mate was freaking out about this, and he wanted to calm her in any way that he could.

This was going to be interesting to say the lease.

Grabbing just a random soda, Leo headed back up the stairs, hoping to avoid any other distractions from his mate. He just needed to get this over with and see if she wanted to accept for the rest of their very long lives.

Mike followed him all the way to the door of his room, and they could both hear some of the sounds coming from the inside. They weren't comforting at all. It sounded like Saeko was in a panic.

Leo rushed into his room to see what was bothering her. He was ready to do battle for his mate. When he got in there, he saw that his mate was standing on the bed naked and staring at her marked hand.

He should have known that was what had upset her. She was getting ready to cry, he could see that much. He rushed over to her side, and wrapped he in his arms. He then drew her down to the bed and tucked Saeko into his chest with her sitting on his lap.

"What's going on? Why is this happening?" She whispered. He could tell that she was just asking herself that question, it wasn't something that he was expected to answer.

He just kept her cuddled close. Something covered in fur brushed against his arm, and he looked down to see that Saeko was sporting a tail. That made him hesitate. Her powers were manifesting now. He should have expected that. It was only natural for them to start manifesting now that she had hit her cycle.

What made him hesitate was the fact that her tale wasn't the black fur of the panther, now was it the normal striped of a tiger. It looked like it was an inversion of the tiger stripes. Like her main fur color was black, and the stripes were the slashes of white. That wasn't something that he was used to. She really was a hybrid. Much like Wren Tigarian was a hybrid. Only, she was a step further.

Not only was she an animal hybrid, she was also a blend of Arcadian and Katagaria.

"Shh, it's going to be ok. I'm here." He said while nuzzling the top of her head. He really needed to get some sleep, but he didn't want to freak her out by transforming into his panther form while he slept. That would surely freak her out.

It seemed that the cat was out of the bag, per se, and all he could do was play catch up with the damned thing.

Saeko was shivering against him like a leaf in the wind, so he just continued to hold her close. He was aware that Mike was watching them closely, so he pulled the comforter around Saeko and made sure that she was covered. That also seemed to help with her shivering.

"Saeko, I need you to look at me. I can explain this all to you, I just need your full attention and I need you to keep an open mind. Can you do that for me sweety?" He watched her closely as she looked into his eyes, nodded and wiped the tears off of her face.

He could feel as she took a deep shuddering breath and clutched the comforter closer to her body. He didn't really want to break it to her this way, but he saw no other option at this point.

He took a bracing breath, and started off at the beginning. That was really the only place to begin,

See, eleven thousand years ago, the God Apollo took a Greek mistress, and she bore him a son. She was only twenty-seven years old. Now, across the ocean, Atlantis was still a powerful island nation, and the Queen of the Atlantians sent out a group of men to have the Greek mistress slaughtered with her infant son. The queen told them to make it look like wild animals had savaged the two, and when Apollo found out, he cursed his children had committed the crime. Not only the ones that had committed the crime were punished though.

"All of his children and their children, and their children's children were punished to die painfully on their twenty-seventh birthday, the age that his mistress had died. They were banished from the daylight, since that is the time that Apollo reins over. They were also given fangs and are forced to feed off one another for sustenance. And they are called Apollites.

"Now jump forward in time a few thousand years, and an Apollite woman was married to a king in Greece. He had no idea that his young wife was cursed, and she bore him two sons. The king was named Lycaon, and from his name we get the modern day word Lycanthrope. King Lycaon was happy for the few years he had with his Apollite wife, all the while not knowing the secret that she and their sons bore. When she turned twenty-seven, he watched her disintegrate before his eyes, and realized that his sons would meet the same fate if he didn't do something.

"King Lycaon was a wizard of sorts, and his sons had inherited both the powers from him, and from their mother's people. So this king gathered the Apollites, his deceased wife's people, and began experimenting on them. He wanted to blend their life forces with that of animals, in the hopes of extending their lives.

"Well, it worked. Better than he thought it would. Instead of living only twenty-seven years, or even a normal human lifetime, he had extended their lives to almost one thousand years. Also, he had created two new species. One group was humans that had the ability to turn into humans, and the other was a group of animals that could turn into humans.

"The Greek Fates were very angry that King Lycaon had circumvented their curse, and decreed that he must destroy both his sons and the people that he had created. Lycaon refused, because he loved his sons, and the fates decreed that the two species would forever at war. Until one side or the other kills the entire branch, neither side would know peace.

"Now, these two groups, the animals are called Katagari, and the humans are called Arcadians. King Lycaon had chosen the two fiercest animals to blend with his sons, the dragon and the wolf. The other animal branches include the Jaguar, Dragon, Hawk, Falcon, Eagle, Cheetah, Lion, Wolf, Snow Leopard, Panther, Leopard, Tiger, Jackal, and Bear.

"I'm a Katagaria Panther, and my base form is that of a Panther. Last night I could smell that you are and Arcadian, and that's why I asked you why one of your kind was doing in the bar. You went into your first heat cycle last night, and when a female goes into heat she can't keep herself from having sex. You were a virgin last night. You've never wanted to have sex before last night, have you?"

Saeko shook her head against his chest. She seemed to be listening to him and taking what he said to heart.

"I don't know how you got separated from your family sweety, but you're not human. We as were-hunters have a higher metabolism than humans, and it's very rare for one of us to be able to get drunk.

"The Fates also cursed our peoples with something else. We are not able to choose our own mates. When we are born, the Fates choose whom we are to be with for the rest of our lives. The only way for us to find out whom our mate is, we have to sleep with them. Once we sleep with the person that the Fates have decreed our other half, a mark appears on the pair's hands. This mark tells all those the family history of the mated pair. The mark always matches between the two of them."

Saeko held up her hand wonderingly. Leo held up his for her to see and compare. He knew they were identical. She was the only person that he had been with in a long time. Well, a long time for him that is.

Leo saw Saeko comparing their marks, and he saw the moment that she saw they were identical. He continued on. "Once two were-hunters are mated, they have three weeks to complete the mating ritual. If the ritual is not completed within the three weeks, the male is left totally impotent, to the point that he can never have sex with another female till his mate has died. The female can continue to have sex with any male that she chooses, but she will never be able to have children with any other male. The completion of the mating ritual is completely up to the female. She cannot be forced into it.

"So, I know that this is a lot to take in, and I understand if you need some time. Do you want me to take you back to New Orleans and give you some time?"

Mike, who had been listening the whole time, coughed out loud over that. Saeko looked over at Mike and Leo saw her confusion.

"Saeko, this is my twin brother, Mike. I would let you shake his hand, but in your state of undress, I'm sure I would have to kill him for touching my mate." He said in a joking tone. He was getting kind of worried about her lack of expression. Maybe he needed to get Pandora.

Saeko just nodded at Mike and looked back at him. She looked up at him questioningly. He didn't know for sure what question she was asking with her eyes, but he had a good idea what one he would ask if he were in her shoes.

He sighed and hugged her closer. This wasn't going to be easy for her to hear. Hell, it wasn't even easy to say. "You remember that I said the mating mark tells the pairs family histories?" Saeko nodded at him. "I took a good look at our mark, and it seems that your parents were one of the stranger pairings that the Fates created. Your mother was from the Stephanos family, and your father from the James family. I know that those names mean nothing to you, so let me explain.

"The James family is the head of the Panthiras Arcadian line, and the Stephanos the head of the Tigarian Katagaria line. The fact that the Arcadian and Katagaria breeding together are strange enough, but two very different animals breeding is almost unheard of. I only know of one such creature born of that kind of breeding. He is Wren Tigarian, the head of the Niphetos Pardalia Katagaria, the snow leopard Katagaria.

"His parents mating was huge news in our circles, and I don't understand why no one knew anything about your parents mating. Hell, I'm not even sure what your parents' names are. No one has heard anything as far as I know of. But I want to check with my brother, Dante. He is the head of the Panthiras Katagaria line, and would know more information than I would. He doesn't exactly trust Mike and me." He chuckled at some of the antics that he and his twin had gotten into in the past. Now that he had a mate to take care of and help with her new powers, it seemed that some of those antics were coming to an end.

Saeko looked up at him dully and he was really starting to get worried. All of last night and up till this morning; intelligence had always shined in her eyes. He thought she might have been going into shock.

"Mike, go get Pandora and Dante. I know that they will be up this morning with the cubs. Please?" He never asked Mike for anything. Hell, he never asked any of his siblings for anything. He wanted to take care of his own things alone.

Mike nodded and left to get Dante and his mate, and while he was gone, Leo made sure that Saeko was dressed. He wanted as few people to see his mate naked as possible. He would kill any man: human, Arcadian, or Katagari that threatened his mate. It was as simple as that.

Leo hadn't realized that Saeko meant so much to him till the thought of her leaving him and calling him insane made his heart pause for a beat. He knew that he had always wanted a mate, but he thought that she might have been one of the other panther-swans that he usually had sex with. While he was putting Saeko's shirt onto her, he thought that over. His older brother Donatello had been mated to another Katagari Panther, and while they were mating, she had killed him when she had climaxed. It was why Dante for the longest time had only ever been with human females. At least till Pandora.

Leo had just finished dressing Saeko and laid her back down on the bed when Mike led Dante, Pandora, and even Romeo into the room.

Romeo was another brother of his, and if anyone besides Pandora could help Saeko, Romeo was the person.

Pandora was immediately at Saeko's side, feeling her cheeks and forehead.

Pandora looked up at him and said, "She isn't running a fever or anything like that, but I think she is just in a simple state of shock. Mike gave us a quick run down of what is going on, and who wouldn't be shocked if they were in her shoes. I think all she needs is some rest and time to get used to the idea that she isn't what she thought she was. I can come in here often and check on her, and when she decides to come out of it, I can explain more of our life to her if you like." She got up off the floor next to the bed and moved over to her mate. Dante put his arm over her shoulder possessively. Leo could see the love that the two of them share, and hoped that one day Saeko could look at him the same way.

Leo thought over what Pandora said and replied after a moment, "I think I'm going to stay in here with her regardless. I don't want her coming out of it and be all alone in here. Our mark appeared while she was alone, and that is what started all of this." He sat on the bed next to Saeko and just looked at her.

She was just staring up at the ceiling, and not seeing anything in particular. Her eyes had no movement and little life in them. Leo looked back up to the others, and saw that they were looking at him with pride. Seems that he had finally said something right for once.

"I'll pop in and out to see if there is anything that I can do for you. That way I can get the cubs taken care of and still be here for her if she needs a females perspective on this." Pandora walked over to Leo and kissed him on the cheek.

Leo hugged her before she had stepped away. "I really appreciate that. I'll call you if she comes out of this and needs anything."

Pandora and Mike left the room, and Dante walked over to stand next to Leo. "Take care of your mate. We'll get someone to cover your shift for the next coupe nights. Is there anyone that we need to notify for her?"

Leo looked up at his older brother in surprise. It wasn't normal for him to offer any help if he didn't need to. That just went to show all the changes that he had gone through since Pandora had come into their lives. "If you could contact the Peltiers and get them to run interference till I can get her back to New Orleans, that would be great. She told me last night that she was in college and that some of her friends were in town with her, but had gone to do something else last night. I don't want them filling a report that could bring the law down on any of us, if we can avoid it. I really appreciate all of this Dante." Leo replied.

Dante just nodded and headed out of the room after his mate.

Leo looked back at Saeko and brushed some hair off of her face. She was so beautiful and such a mystery. He wished that he had more information about her parents, about her life, where she came from, who she really was.

"Come on baby, come out of this. I want to know more about you." He whispered.

Saeko was trapped in a world created by her turmoil. She knew that. The wind was screaming around her naked body and tearing at her flesh like ice-cold knives. The landscape around her was dead and barren. The few trees that she could see were dead, twisted, and warped.

It was like she was twelve years old again and trapped in her nightmares.

Saeko knew that she needed to head forward, backward, or sideways. It didn't really matter what direction she went, she just needed to head somewhere.

She shivered at the thought of what was awaiting her, but she gathered what little courage was left to her and put one foot in front of the other and started to move.

The rough ground beneath her tore her feet and made her footprints red as her feet bled. This was all too familiar to her. All that was missing were the images flashing every which direction to torment her. Saeko imagined that was going to come later, after she had gone through physical torment and she was at the end of her rope.

She trudged along for a time, the landscape staying the same and making her wonder is she was even moving forward at all when a gust of wind from behind her pummeled her and made her lurch forward. She slammed face-first to the ground and could taster blood. She simply lay there while the wind continued to scream around her and thought about just giving up.

That's when the others appeared. They were her parents and everyone that held a place in her life. Her adoptive mother was screaming insults at her and her adoptive father lashed out at her physically, kicking her in the ribs. Saeko curled into a ball, trying to protect herself as best she could. She covered her ears with her hands to try and block out the insults and ranting of the people who chose to abuse her vocally.

It was everything that she had expected and worse. She had been here when she had been twelve and her parents had told her that she had been adopted and that they didn't want to take care of her anymore. That they were giving up on her just like her birth parents had done. It was like when she had gone to the orphanage and had to deal with the horrible people there.

Saeko tried to ignore all of the words and blows coming her way. It wasn't easy, but eventually the world around her had gone silent. She timidly looked up and saw that the landscape was still the same ugly and disgusting piece it was before, but the people from her past had disappeared. Looking around as she pushed her body into a sitting position, she saw that there were no people around her anymore.

They were all gone. Breathing a sigh of relief, Saeko got the rest of the way onto her feet and started trudging along again. She didn't know what else to do other than continue on.

It was some time later before she saw that the landscape was changing, here and there she noticed patches of grass. Also the sky itself was clearing up, becoming brighter. This was new.

She continued on a little bit further, and it was just like walking around in a beautiful park now. This was so out of the norm for what she was used to with the nightmares. Saeko looked around to see if anyone new had shown up. Nope, no one around.

Saeko decided to just sit and rest for a time. There really wasn't much else that she could do. She had already been walking for so long that her feet were town and bloody from the earlier path. She really needed to take a break before she continued on any further.

Sighing in pleasure as she sat in the lush, cool grass, Saeko decided to lie all the way out. She didn't care that she was nude. Her nudity didn't really matter anyways. It was her dream. This was strange for her.

She didn't know how much time had passed while she just lay there, but it gave her time to think on everything that she had found out. She had always known that she didn't fit in with the people around her. Finding out that she wasn't truly human wasn't too much of a shock to her. Saeko had always felt that what people called "paranormal" or "supernatural" was really there.

What shocked her was this whole "mating" thing. How someone else could choose who she was to spend the rest of her life with galled her. She had always tried to stay in control of her own life, but this was taking that control out of her hands.

Not that Leo wasn't a great guy. He had tried his hardest to break it easy to her. Saeko acknowledged that fact. And he had been so sweet to her last night. Looking back she could see his hesitation and how he tried to not follow his instincts. He had tried to protect her from this fate. Maybe life with him wouldn't be so bad.

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, a shadow fell over her naked form. Saeko sat up and opened her eyes to see what had blocked the sun. There was a man there with long brown hair and lavender eyes glaring at her. There wasn't any true rancor in his eyes, just a look of general detestation of the world.

Saeko still didn't care that she was naked so she stood there in front of him boldly. She wasn't going to let him intimidate her. The others earlier had tried their hardest to make her give up and she had come through it. He was not going to succeed where they had failed, she would not let him.

"What do you want?" Saeko didn't allow her voice to tremble in any way. She was not going to show this man her fear.

The man's eyes sparkled with amusement. Like he was laughing at her thoughts. Saeko stood tall in front of him. She didn't cower or shiver.

The mad looked her up and down and smirked as he said, "I just want to take care of a favor that I owed your father. I figured the best way to do that was to make your transition into the Arcadian world as seamless as possible. I am sorry that I didn't come for you earlier in you life so that this wouldn't have come to the point it is now. I have to say that you are taking this remarkably well though. I'm Savitar." Savitar moved his hand in front of her and clothes instantly appeared on her body and the landscape around her changed to that of a white sandy beach with turquoise waters.

Saeko only heard one thing though that caught her interest. "You knew my father? My real father?" She had immediately latched onto that idea and wasn't going to let it go until she had more information.

Savitar sighed and looked remorseful. "I knew both of your parents Saeko. They were good people and didn't want to leave you like they did. But that's all I can say right now. Everything else you'll learn at a later time. For now though, I need to fill you in on your place in this world." He came closer to her and placed his hand on top of her head.

Instantly Saeko was inundated with the information having to do with her people. And she saw that they really were her people.

Gasping, Saeko reeled away from Savitar. She hadn't thought that what he had done was possible. It was amazing. She saw the entire history of her people all the way from the creation of the Apollites to when the king Lyacon spliced their DNA. Saeko fell to her knees and wept in sorrow of the curse that the Fates had laid on them.

Saeko forced herself to stand and face Savitar. She understood both sides of the situation. Neither party was fully without blame. "Why?" She croaked the one word at Savitar.

"Why show you the truth? Because I think that someone out there needs to know. What you do with the information is up to you, but I think that you are in a unique position. You are a blend of Arcadian and Katagari, and you are mated to a Katagari. Knowing this history, you are better able to protect the large amount of Were's that I have seen being mated to their other halves. Many of these Were's just want to continue on their lives with their mates, and don't want to have to defend themselves all the time.

"I know that you are new to this world, Saeko, but these people and animals just want to continue their familial lines. You will face an amazing amount of censure for being mated to a Katagari Panther. There has never been a child born quite like you, the daughter of a Katagari tiger and an Arcadian panther. The closest that I have seen in the past is Wren Tigarian, and he is the cross of a Katagari tiger and Katagari snow leopard.

"He is happily mated to an Arcadian tiger, and their children are going to wield amazing amounts of power. I know that you are mated to a Katagaria panther yourself, and that this is all new to you. I cannot stress how important you actually are. If you and Leo can successfully mate in this world, and make it work, you will show the rest of the people and animals that they don't have to war against each other. You and your mate can bring an end to the senseless killing that has gone on for far to long." Savitar looked her deep in the eyes and she knew he was telling her the whole truth.

After seeing the truth of what had happened in the past between the two groups, she knew that she couldn't turn her back on the people that needed her.

"How can I do anything? After seeing what you showed me and what Leo has told me, it's only obvious that I cannot do anything until I'm properly trained. And that can be a long time." Saeko sat heavily into a chair that was conveniently near by.

Savitar manifested a chair right across from her, and sat so that he could still look her in the eyes. "I'm prepared to grant the Inferno, the club that Leo and his family run, the title of Limani. It's a step in the right direction, and I am going to tell Dante that I want you to be in all of the decisions even though he is the Regis of the Katagari panthers."

Saeko understood that Limanis were sanctuaries set up across the world and time for those who needed to heal and to get away from those hunting them. She could see where this was going.

Saeko sat back in her seat. "You want me to offer the protection of this Limani to those who have, shall we say, stranger matings?" At Savitar's nod she continued. "What makes you think that my mate and his family will agree to this?" She really was just asking because she didn't have any idea what her mate's family was really like.

Savitar chuckled. "I know that they will accept the terms because I will be offering the status of Limani to Dante. He isn't stupid. He knows that with that status that he and his family are safe. And he himself has what you called a stranger mating than most. His mate Pandora is an Arcadian panther.

"Saeko, I know that you have had a more difficult life than most humans your age, and most Arcadians too for that matter. I know that because of what has happened to you in your past that you will do your damndest to protect the people that you feel need that protection. Once you learn to use your powers, you will be one of the most powerful beings in the Were world. You have no idea how rare and frightening that is. If I didn't offer your mate's brother the Limani status, he would have so many different factions tearing his home and family apart to try and use your powers.

"As much as I was to say that I don't care about what happens there, I know that if anything were to happen to Dante's family that Dante would most likely kill anything and everyone that stands in his way. You're not a stupid girl. I know that you can see the merit in this plan, even if you've only just found out about these people. Not only will you be protected by the Limani status for the rest of your life, but also your new family will be protected.

"Think about any children that you and Leo might have. With the way things are now, they will be hunted down and destroyed. With the status of Limani backing Dante's Inferno, they will be protected and safe in a way that you never were as a child." Savitar leaned back in his own seat.

Saeko looked down at her hands. He had hit a sore spot with her. It was like Savitar knew what kind of people had adopted her as their daughter. She looked up and met his eyes, and she was certain that he did know. There was wisdom in his eyes that belied the age he appeared to be. There was a strong, wise man behind that surfer persona he wore.

Saeko gave her head a shake to try and clear her thoughts. This was all so fast and she was so confused, just a few hours before she had been oblivious of all of this. How she wished that she could go back to that.

She knew that there was no going back from this though. This was her decision to make and there was only one right choice to make. She had to accept the Limani status for her new family, and with it she would also have to accept the "job" that Savitar was giving her. Saeko just hoped that Dante and Leo wouldn't kill her over that one.

Saeko looked Savitar in the eyes and said, "You and I both know that there is only one choice that I can make here, so damn you, I accept."

Savitar was about to say something and Saeko continued talking.

"But you get to be the one to explain the terms of the Limani status to Dante and Leo. Since you are the big bad mediator and all that, I think that he will take it better from you than me any day."

Savitar chuckled. "I see the kitten is finally learning how to use her claws. Very well, I will be the one to do that. And you're right, I am the big bad mediator and it is my dubious pleasure to summon those two here."

As soon as those words had left his lips, Dante and Leo appeared before her.

Leo rushed to her side and gathered her in his arms, and Saeko was a bit stunned. Although it was nice feeling, she wasn't used to it. This was a wholly new sensation for her.

Saeko saw Savitar watching the reunion with a half grin on his face and wondered why he was so smug with himself. Well, other than the fact that he had gotten her to agree to exactly what he wanted.

Leo glared at Savitar and very nearly snarled at him. "How dare you take my mate without any by-your-leave or heads-up." Leo moved Saeko to stand behind him like he wanted to protect her from any backlash that Savitar might display.

Savitar stared Leo down and Saeko could tell that he was pissed. "Boy, if your mate hadn't just agreed to what I wanted and if I weren't feeling great about that fact, you would be a smear on the back wall there. But luckily for you, your young mate here has a wonderful mind and has agreed to take in other mated pairs like yourselves and protect them." Savitar sat in his previous seat and the others followed suit even if they didn't want to.

Dante looked at Saeko and said "How will she be protecting them, she can't even protect herself at this point. No offense little sister."

Saeko nodded her head at him to show that she wasn't offended.

Leo whispered in her ear, "One minute your comatose and not responding to anyone back in my room, the next you disappear and we have no way of tracking you. I was scared, kitten, and I don't know if I like being scared."

Savitar obviously heard what Leo was whispering, but he addressed Dante instead. "I'm offering your club the status of Limani in exchange for Saeko's agreement to protect those with strange matings. Yes you will act like your run of the mill Sanctuary, but she will aggressively search for those who had been mated and are being hunted down by their patrias. I know that you hate Arcadians Dante, but living with an Arcadian has shown you that they aren't all bad people. Many of these people and animals never asked for something like this to happen to them and it isn't their fault that the damn fates can't keep their noses out of things that shouldn't concern them, much like with you and Pandora."

Dante rubbed his temple and said, "I hate it when you make sense Savitar. I really, truly do."

Savitar just laughed evilly.

"But that doesn't explain why you chose Saeko. She's only just found out about us and has had no training in anything." Dante continued.

Savitar laughed evilly again. "I've unlocked all of her powers and 'shown' her how to use them. All you and the others need to do is teach her how to fight, and you will find out that the little 'kitten' there has some pretty sharp claws."

Dante and Leo both stared at Savitar with a look of utter astonishment. They knew that he was powerful, they just hadn't known how potent.

He grinned at the three of them and Saeko had to join in on this grin. Savitar just looked like the cat that ate the canary, and she had no doubt who were the canaries.

"You'll come to find out that with her distinctive bloodline, Saeko here will be able to do more than anyone in your family has ever thought plausible."

Dante and Leo both looked at Saeko with a thunderstruck look on their faces.

"Now Dante, will you accept the Limani status and all that it entails? Even if Saeko 'brings in stays' as it were?" Savitar stared down Dante until he looked away.

Dante was silent for a moment before answering. "I would have to be insane not to accept Limani from you Savitar. Your right when you say that my mate and I would be hunted down by many different factions if it weren't for the fact that I am a cruel bastard and butcher anyone that comes near us with a look that I don't like.

"On behalf of my family and myself, I accept your conditions Savitar. And you better not expect me to play this humble shit to you all the time." Dante grinned at Savitar.

Savitar looked perturbed for a moment. "I wouldn't expect anything from a 'cruel bastard' such as yourself Dante. But you might want to talk to your little brother there and make sure that he knows not to come into my home and threaten me. If I want to have tea and crumpets with his mate at any time of the day, you better believe that I will bring her here to my island and we will do just that. I don't need his or anyone else's permission to bring her here."

With that said, Savitar waved his hand at the three of them and in the blink of an eye they found themselves back at the Inferno in the main family room.

17

17 


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, sorry for not putting anything up last chapter about this FanFiction. I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who are reading it and are interested in it. This is a story that is near and dear to my heart, and I'm sorry that this chapter isn't nearly as long as the last one. But I will say that this is the quickest that I have written a chapter for any of my fictions. I do not own the franchise of the world of Were-hunters, Dark-hunters, or Dream-hunters. I do not own anything that the wonderful Author/goddess Sherrilyn Kenyon has created in that devious but amazing mind of hers. I do own the character Saeko and will gladly say that. **

**With that said, have a great time reading this chapter and please review once you are done. I use those comments to add to my writing skills. **

**Missa.**

* * *

"Well, that was fun." Leo said sarcastically. He put an arm around Saeko without a thought about it. It was a natural movement.

Saeko noticed it though, but didn't say anything about it. After the morning she'd had, she felt like she could use the closeness to another being. Especially a closeness with her mate. She leaned into his body and unobtrusively breathed in his scent.

She was glad in a way that Savitar had given her the knowledge of her people to her instead of making her learn it bit by bit. If she were to complete the task ahead of her, she would need that knowledge. With the thought of the daunting task ahead of her, Saeko wilted into herself just a bit.

Leo must have taken notice, because he tightened his arm around her shoulder as he spoke to Dante.

"What do we need to do to prepare for the changes in store for us?" He was facing Dante with his head held high.

Dante thought that this was just what Leo needed to make him grow up a bit. Sure, Mike and Leo were just under 100, but they had continued to act like children for the longest time. Leo was growing into the man that he had known he could become.

Dante looked Leo in the eyes and said, "First, we need to tell the others about what is going to happen and let the ones that will want nothing to do with this change leave. We will not force any of our family to deal with the numerous amounts of different people and animals that will surely be coming in and out of the club now. Sure, that's been the case for a while now, but now we will house certain mated pairs whenever Saeko brings them in. That is sure to upset the purists in our family.

"Second, we will need to expand the living areas above the club. Maybe purchase the building next door. We will certainly need to update the security systems everywhere, and let the others put their input it. Saeko, do you have any ideas?" Dante looked down at her and she shrugged.

"Not at the moment. I'm still trying to adjust to the fact that I'm not human like I thought I was yesterday when I went into Sanctuary to have a few drinks for my birthday." She looked up at Leo and gave him a crooked grin. "I had no idea what I was getting myself into."

Dante and Leo both snorted at that. "Speaking of which, we need to get you back to New Orleans before any of your friends notice you missing and report it. That's the last thing the Peltiers need right now is the police looking a little to close around the bar for a missing co-ed. You do know that you are going to have to leave the college that you're enrolled at currently and move here right?" Leo looked Saeko in the eyes. He knew this was going to hurt her, but it was necessary for her to be able to continue her new life.

Saeko nodded sadly and said, "Yeah. I kinda figured that. But once I move here and spend a little time here, I can probably do some online courses to finish getting my degree. Who knows? Maybe I'll decide to not go back at all. It's not like having a degree in history will help me much with what I'm going to be doing from here on out."

Leo was impressed with how she was looking at this. Not many people her age would be handling what she was going through as well as she was. This said a lot about her character. He could easily see himself falling in love with her and staying in love her until the end of his days. He had to get her to accept completing the mating ritual as soon as possible.

One of the doors to the rooms opened and Mike stepped out. He paused when he saw them standing there and asked, "Is everything alright?"

Dante nodded and replied, "Can you gather everyone else and have them meet us down at the club. There is something that we need to tell them and see what they want to do." He turned to face Saeko and Leo again. "Leo, you need to get her back to New Orleans fast so that she can take care of her friends. I don't care how she does it, but she needs to get back her as quickly as she can. I have a feeling that Savitar wants her to start gathering the lost ones as quickly as possible. There is a lot that she is going to be taught how to do, even if Savitar opened her mind to all of her powers."

Leo and Saeko both nodded. "We can absolutely do that. We'll see you all later. Tell Pandora thanks for me." Leo wrapped both of his arms around Saeko so that he wouldn't loose her during the jump.

Saeko closed her eyes and held on tightly to Leo. Navigating the Rytis wasn't something that was normally dangerous, unless you were a newb and got lost, but sometimes accidents did happen.

Leo opened his arms when he landed on the top floor of Sanctuary. He chuckled at the sight of Saeko with her eyes screwed tightly shut and said, "We are hear sweet, you can open your eyes. We made it safely."

Saeko did open her eyes and glanced around. She sheepishly looked up at Leo and told him, "Sorry, I know you have a lot more practice than me, and I don't doubt your abilities in the least, but I'm still so new to all of this. It's going to take me some time to get used to all of it."

Leo slung an arm over her shoulders and led her down the stairs to the main floor of the bar. "I know, I'm just teasing you. One day you will be able to do all of this and more it Savitar can be trusted. And he is one scary dude, so I trust what he says. Let's get you back to the hotel and talk to your girls. Do you have any idea what you are going to say to them?"

Saeko bit her lower lip. "I have an idea, but don't know how they are going to take it. I thought I might say something like how I had an epiphany last night while I was with you and saw that the route that I'm going down currently will just have me following in the steps of my adoptive parents. Those girls have seen a lot of what I've gone through with them and won't say a word about me wanting to take a different path. This will also explain why I'm dropping out of the school I'm at currently and relocating to Minnesota with you."

Leo waved at Fang as they walked past the bar. They didn't stop to explain what they were doing and Fang didn't seem concerned. They passed Dev on their way out the door and Leo nodded to him. It wasn't strange to see Dev guarding the door at this time of day.

Saeko hailed a cab and they both got in. She reached for Leo's hand and squeezed it. She didn't want to let on that she was kind of scared of how the girls were going to react when they got to the hotel and she told them the news, but she thought that he might have guessed at it. He squeezed her hand in return, letting her know silently that he was there for her.

This was all so crazy. She had just met him last night and while they had talked a lot and had sex, she didn't really know him, yet she trusted him on a level that she rarely let people into. But she didn't think anything of it really. She wondered if all mated pairs were like this. Right now all she really wanted to do was strip him down and have her way with him and let him do the same to her, but she knew that this was neither the time nor place for such play. Saeko wondered if Leo knew what she was thinking about.

The cab continued onto the hotel and they sat in silence till it pulled up to the doors. Leo paid the cabbie and helped Saeko get out. He was being a perfect gentleman.

Without saying a word, Saeko led him up to the suite that the girls had paid the hotel for and opened the door. She wasn't surprised by what they found. It seemed that the girls had a great time last night, because the main room was in shambles. Clothes were flung everywhere, hanging on the lamps, tossed over the sofa, and a bra had managed to land on the chandelier and was hanging there as if it wanted to be seen. It was rather comical.

Saeko shook her head at the mess and sat on the couch. She didn't want to wake the others since they were all probably very hung over. "We might as well sit and wait for them to get up. I don't think they will be making an appearance for a while though."

Leo grimaced as he sat delicately on the couch next to her, trying and failing to avoid sitting on any of the abandoned clothes. "Well, since we are going to wait, do you want to talk about what happened last night and then this morning?"


End file.
